Easy Italian Macaroni Salad
Try a new fresh take on macaroni salad with this Easy Italian Macaroni Salad! A lighter side for macaroni salad makes a wonderful addition to any barbecue, picnic, or potluck. Great flavors and textures, everyone will love this refreshing new macaroni salad!
Italian Macaroni Salad
This Italian Macaroni Salad contains zesty lemon flavors with delicious textures from fresh crunchy celery, crisp red onions, fresh parsley, and elbow pasta. Plus, a tangy vinaigrette with some mayo. People often think that macaroni salads are loaded with fatty mayonnaise, and yes while some do, that’s not always the case.
This salad is flavorful without all that mayo. It’s nothing fancy, just a simple recipe with fresh flavors! An delicious side dish, this easy Italian macaroni salad is so good, that even the kids will enjoy this one too! For more delicious salads, don’t miss our Best Orzo Salad with Spinach and Easy Pasta Salad with Bocconcini.
Reasons we LOVE this Macaroni Salad…
- Our macaroni salad is very light and delicious tasting.
- It’s tossed with fresh lemon juice to give it a refreshing flavor, and only a touch of mayonnaise and a little cayenne pepper to make all the flavors pop in this salad.
- You can omit the mayo and use Greek yogurt in its place, it’s ideal for vegans!
- Best of all it’s 42 calories per serving!
- Our Italian Macaroni Salad is made with elbow pasta, but you can make it with any small, bite-size pasta of your choice.
Tips To Make it Perfect…
- The key to making a great macaroni salad is not to overcook the pasta.
- When making macaroni salad, it is best to undercook the pasta for about 1 minute or so (aka “al-dente” – which means tender to the bite) and drain well in a colander.
- Then toss it with a few fresh ingredients, season with salt and pepper to taste, and chill for a least 30 minutes or more before serving.
- Pasta salads tend to absorb most of their juices and vinaigrette while marinating; therefore, you may need to adjust and add additional vinaigrette to your preference. Always drizzle additional extra virgin olive oil to keep the pasta moist.
- Plus, always taste the salad before serving it and adjust the seasonings and vinaigrette if you need to.
- Finally, transfer the salad to a pretty serving bowl and serve.
Ingredients
- Elbow Pasta – we prefer small pasta for this salad, elbow pasta works great. You can use any small pasta with this recipe.
- Red Onion – a small amount of red onion, and sliced thinly.
- Lemons – at least one or two lemons for the vinaigrette.
- Mayonnaise (or Greek Yogurt) – a small amount of mayo is needed, and you can add as much as you prefer to your taste. We won’t mind.
- Celery – we love a crunchy celery in our macaroni salad.
- Seasonings – you will only need some salt, fresh cracked black pepper, and cayenne pepper.
- Fresh Parsley – fresh parsley as an herb always adds some freshness to the salad. If you don’t have any on hand, you can leave it out.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – olive oil will always keep the pasta salad moist and not dry out.
How To Make Easy Italian Macaroni Salad?
This is the easiest sides dishes you can make and bring to a friends outdoor dinner, or barbecue. There nothing to it. Keep in mind, our full recipe card is located at the bottom. But first, let’s go through these easy steps to making our macaroni salad.
- Gather all the ingredients needed.
- Cook the pasta in a pot with boiling water, until “al-dente”(which means tender to the bite) and do not over cook it.
- Slice the veggies, and toss them into a mixing bowl. Add all the other ingredients and mix to combine. Then chill before you serving.
Make it Your Own:
There are no set rules when it comes to making a macaroni salad. You have so many options to not only jazz things up, but you can make it to your own liking. Here are a few suggestions:
- omit the mayo and use Greek (low-fat) yogurt
- toss in thinly sliced carrots for a splash of color
- toss in sliced green onions, cherry tomatoes, and chopped peppers for texture
- add in additional fresh or dried herbs
- A great recipe that works well with gluten-free pasta too!
Storing
To store our Italian Macaroni Salad, it’s best to transfer it to a container with a cover, and keep it chilled in the fridge. It will stay fresh for up to 4 days. Also, keep in mind, the pasta will continue to absorb its vinaigrette, so toss it again before serving leftovers, and taste it. It may need some additional extra virgin olive oil and maybe some mayo. Then enjoy!
A Delicious Salad for BBQ’s and Gatherings
Macaroni salads are always welcomed at gatherings. They compliment just about anything you serve it with, including grilled meats, veggies and fish! Ideal for leftovers and have it for lunch all week long. It’s great! Try this recipe!
ENJOY!!
Don’t forget! If you tried our Easy Italian Macaroni Salad? We’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment with a star rating on our recipe card. Your insights and experiences help everyone who reads them, and it helps us too!
More Salads You’ll Enjoy!
- Crunchy Broccoli, Raisins and Walnut Salad
- Easy Caprese Skewers
- Best Broccoli Salad (Keto)
- Healthy Apple Bok Choy Salad
- Easy Italian Macaroni Salad
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Easy Italian Macaroni Salad
Easy Italian Macaroni Salad is made with fresh zesty lemon flavors and delicious textures from crisp celery, red onions, fresh parsley, and elbow pasta! A lighter side for this Italian Macaroni Salad makes a wonderful dish to serve chilled all summer long!
Ingredients
- 2 cups of elbow pasta
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1 large lemon - juice ( about 1/4 cup)
- 4 Tbsp. mayonnaise ( or Greek Yogurt)
- 1 celery stalk - thinly sliced
- salt and fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
- dash of cayenne pepper
- extra lemon, if needed
- 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil over high heat and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt into the water. Then toss in 2 cups of elbow pasta and cook the pasta for 5 to 6 minutes. Do not overcook or it will ruin the salad. The pasta should be al-dente, which means a nice tender bite to it.
- Drain the pasta in a colander and let it sit in there for a minute to cool down.
- Next in a large mixing bowl, toss in the celery, red onion, mayonnaise, and lemon juice. and a dash of cayenne pepper. Then toss in the elbow pasta and fresh parsley, and stir until well combined.
- Taste the pasta salad and season with salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Then add the olive oil and toss again.
- Cover and chill at least 1 hour before serving.
- Just before serving, toss the salad and taste once more. If you feel it needs a little more lemon juice, and olive oil, squeeze an additional 1/2 of a lemon over the salad, add additional olive oil, then toss and serve.
- Serves 4 to 6
Notes
Tips and Tricks:
- The key to making a great macaroni salad is not to overcook the pasta.
- When making macaroni salad, it is best to undercook the pasta for about 1 minute or so (aka "al-dente" - which means tender to the bite) and drain well in a colander.
- Then toss it with a few fresh ingredients, season with salt and pepper to taste, and chill for a least 30 minutes or more before serving.
- Pasta salads tend to absorb most of their juices and vinaigrette while marinating; therefore, you may need to adjust and add additional vinaigrette to your preference. Always drizzle additional extra virgin olive oil to keep the pasta moist.
- Plus, always taste the salad before serving it and adjust the seasonings and vinaigrette if you need to.
- Finally, transfer the salad to a pretty serving bowl and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 servings Serving Size: 1/2 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 42Total Fat: 3.3gSaturated Fat: .05gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 72mgCarbohydrates: 3.1gFiber: .2gSugar: .9gProtein: .2g
Happy and Healthy Cooking! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by…
xo anna and liz
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The only kind of macaroni salad I ever make is with tuna. I need to branch out a little 🙂 This sounds great and not high in calories either.
Ok then, this is a good reason to start with a new macaroni salad like this one! I think you will be very pleased with its flavors and textures. Thanks Susan! 🙂